About Apple’s Shot On Campaign

Apple’s campaign to promote the new camera on its freshly-launched IPhone6 might not have been the most innovative advertising stance, however, it reveals a subtle change of direction for the company; a shift towards luxury and right-at its heart lies the Apple Watch.

And it’s not alone in trying this: Starbucks convinced America that spending €4 a day on a fancy coffee is an affordable act of self-indulgence whilst. Nike makes people believe they will perform better wearing a €300 piece of sportswear. All of these brands are creating a new kind of collective and inclusive aspiration that tugs hard at emotions and personal motivations.

The Shot on iPhone 6 campaign is the usual Apple advertising stance: here’s the product and here’s what you can do with it. They paint a powerful image. Wherever people appear, we notice they’re all young. The images are rarefied and abstract with more than a nod towards arts and exotic travel. This is an aspirational vision of youth that is empowered to explore every wild corner of the world using the phone as your companion.

There is an implication of benign benevolence at work. Apple, with all its money and power, has taken over these public spaces (for our benefit) turning them into pop-up gallery spaces – art for everyone. In our message-filled world, serenity is a luxury and Apple aims to bring people a sort of sponsored tranquillity on our daily commute to work.

Defining its own vision of accessible luxury is a manifestation of power and maturity built on a simple transaction: give us your money and we’ll give you the feeling of luxury, tranquillity and freedom from garishness. Join a community that feels exclusive and privileged. Except that it isn’t, there are millions more just like you.